Immigrant and ethnic enterprise in North America*

Many claim that national economic success depends upon cultural homogeneity. We collect new time-series data and develop new measures of ethnic, linguistic and religious fractionalization for the OECD countries. We show that cultural diversity may vary by type across countries and over short periods of time. We also show that our measure of ethnic fractionalization is a significant predictor of economic performance in OECD countries despite the fact that they constitute a particularly homogeneous and economically advantaged group.     

Good Fences: The Importance of Setting Boundaries for Peaceful Coexistence

We consider the conditions of peace and violence among ethnic groups, testing a theory designed to predict the locations of violence and interventions that can promote peace. Characterizing the model''s success in predicting peace requires examples where peace prevails despite diversity. Switzerland is recognized as a country of peace, stability and prosperity. This is surprising because of its linguistic and religious diversity that in other parts of the world lead to conflict and violence. Here we analyze how peaceful stability is maintained. Our analysis shows that peace does not depend on integrated coexistence, but rather on well defined topographical and political boundaries separating groups, allowing for partial autonomy within a single country. In Switzerland, mountains and lakes are an important part of the boundaries between sharply defined linguistic areas. Political canton and circle (sub-canton) boundaries often separate religious groups. Where such boundaries do not appear to be sufficient, we find that specific aspects of the population distribution guarantee either sufficient separation or sufficient mixing to inhibit intergroup violence according to the quantitative theory of conflict. In exactly one region, a porous mountain range does not adequately separate linguistic groups and that region has experienced significant violent conflict, leading to the recent creation of the canton of Jura. Our analysis supports the hypothesis that violence between groups can be inhibited by physical and political boundaries. A similar analysis of the area of the former Yugoslavia shows that during widespread ethnic violence existing political boundaries did not coincide with the boundaries of distinct groups, but peace prevailed in specific areas where they did coincide. The success of peace in Switzerland may serve as a model to resolve conflict in other ethnically diverse countries and regions of the world.     

Genetic diversity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ovis aries</Emphasis> populations near domestication centers and in the New World

Domestic sheep in Kazakhstan may provide an interesting source of genetic variability due to their proximity to the center of domestication and the Silk Route. Additionally, those breeds have never been compared to New World sheep populations. This report compares genetic diversity among five Kazakhstan (KZ) and 13 United States (US) sheep breeds (N = 442) using 25 microsatellite markers from the FAO panel. The KZ breeds had observed and expected measures of heterozygosity greater than 0.60 and an average number of alleles per locus of 7.8. In contrast, US sheep breeds had observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.37 to 0.62 and had an average number of alleles of 5.7. A Bayesian analysis indicated there were two primary populations (K = 2). Surprisingly, the US breeds were near evenly split between the two clusters, while all of the KZ breeds were placed in one of the two clusters. Pooling breeds within country of sample origin showed KZ and US populations to have similar levels of expected heterozygosity and the average number of alleles per locus. The results of breeds pooled within country suggest that there was no difference between countries for these diversity measures using this set of neutral markers. This finding suggests that populations’ geographically isolated from centers of domestication can be more diverse than previously thought, and as a result, conservation strategies can be adjusted accordingly. Furthermore, these results suggest there may be limited need for countries to alter the protocols for trade and exchange of animal genetic resources that are in place today, since no one population has a unique set of private alleles.     

Molecular diversity and genetic relationships among Sri Lankan pomegranate Punica granatum landraces assessed with inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) regions

Pomegranate Punica granatum was first introduced to Sri Lanka, possibly through ancient trade routes, thousands of years ago. However, there is no information about the diversity of the pomegranate germplasm in the country, which is important both for breeding new varieties and for conservation efforts. We used inter‐simple sequence repeat (ISSR) regions to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of pomegranate on the island of Sri Lanka. Hundred and twenty accessions representing seven populations from all pomegranate growing regions of the country were analyzed using 20 ISSR primers. A total of 107 loci were amplified with an average polymorphism information content of 0.3. While the average inter‐population genetic distance was 0.141, it was 0.149 between populations, indicating moderate genetic diversity both within and among populations. Analysis of molecular variance and Nei's genetic diversity revealed higher genetic variation within populations than among populations, and low genetic differentiation (G_ST) in pair‐wise comparison of populations also suggested limited population differentiation. A considerable level of among‐population gene flow (Nm) was indicated, irrespective of geographical structure and distances. The results of cluster analysis was also in agreement with above analysis and suggest human mediated gene flow and migration patterns. Cluster analysis revealed two main population clusters with several sub‐clusters. While these clusters did not show any correlation with geography, all red peeled accessions clustered into a small sub‐cluster. The results indicate that analysis of ISSR variability is sufficiently informative and powerful to assess the genetic diversity of P. granatum landraces in Sri Lanka.     

DNA diversity of human populations from Eastern Europe and Siberia studied by multilocus DNA fingerprinting

We used DNA fingerprinting with M13 phage DNA as a probe to estimate the degree of genomic variability and genetic relationships in a heterogeneous group of 13 populations from Eastern Europe and Siberia. The popultaions belong to three language families: Indo-European (Slavonic: Russians, Byelorussians), Uralic (Finno-Ugric: Maris, Mordvinians, Udmurts), and Altaic (Turkic: Bashkirs, Tatars, Chuvashes, Yakuts). Multivariate statistical analyses were used (multidimensional scaling, cluster, and multiple correspondence analyses), and coefficients of gene differentiation (Gst) were evaluated. The level of interpopulation subdivision in the various ethnic groups appeared to be different: the Byelorussian populations revealed no regional differences, in contrast to the Bashkir populations, which formed a heterogeneous group. The populations subdivided into three general clusters: Slavonic populations formed a separate tight cluster characterized by a minimal level of interpopulation diversity, Bashkir and Yakut populations formed the second cluster, and the Finno-Ugric and several populations of the Turkic linguistic groups formed the third cluster. The robustness of these results obtained by different statistical data treatments reveals that multilocus DNA fingerprinting can be reliably used for population studies.Communicated by G. P. Georgiev     

AFLP-based genetic diversity assessment amongst agronomically important natural and some newly synthesized lines of Brassica juncea

AFLP markers were employed to assess the genetic diversity amongst 21 established natural and nine synthetic varietes and lines of Brassica juncea originating from Asia, Australia, Canada, Eastern Europe and Russia. Six of the synthetics used for diversity studies have been developed recently. Twenty one EcoRI/MseI-based AFLP primer pairs generated a total of 1251 scorable fragments among the 30 genotypes studied, of which 778 bands were polymorphic with an average of 37 polymorphic bands per primer pair. On the basis of the similarity coefficients (F value), cluster analysis was performed using the UPGMA method. The 30 B. juncea lines could be grouped into three distinct clusters. All the Indian, Chinese and previously developed synthetics formed one cluster (cluster A), the recently developed synthetics formed a separate cluster (cluster B) and the lines from Australia, Canada, Eastern Europe and Russia formed the third cluster (cluster C). A majority of the lines were uniquely identified by one or more primer pairs due to the presence or absence of variety specific band(s). Four primer pairs were found to be most informative, since these uniquely identified all the genotypes assayed. These four primer pairs, could therefore be used as fingerprinting primers for varietal identification. Received: 1 November 1999 / Accepted: 8 May 2000     

Genetic Diversity and Population Structure Analysis Between Indian Red Jungle Fowl and Domestic Chicken Using Microsatellite Markers

The present study was conducted to assess the genetic diversity, population structure, and relatedness in Indian red jungle fowl (RJF, Gallus gallus murgi) from northern India and three domestic chicken populations (gallus gallus domesticus), maintained at the institute farms, namely White Leghorn (WL), Aseel (AS) and Red Cornish (RC) using 25 microsatellite markers. All the markers were polymorphic, the number of alleles at each locus ranged from five (MCW0111) to forty-three (LEI0212) with an average number of 19 alleles per locus. Across all loci, the mean expected heterozygosity and polymorphic information content were 0.883 and 0.872, respectively. Population-specific alleles were found in each population. A UPGMA dendrogram based on shared allele distances clearly revealed two major clusters among the four populations; cluster I had genotypes from RJF and WL whereas cluster II had AS and RC genotypes. Furthermore, the estimation of population structure was performed to understand how genetic variation is partitioned within and among populations. The maximum ?K value was observed for K = 4 with four identified clusters. Furthermore, factorial analysis clearly showed four clustering; each cluster represented the four types of population used in the study. These results clearly, demonstrate the potential of microsatellite markers in elucidating the genetic diversity, relationships, and population structure analysis in RJF and domestic chicken populations.     

Polymorphism of hordein-coding loci in barley (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Hordeum vulgare</Emphasis> L.) populations of Iran and Central Asian countries

Starch gel electrophoresis was performed to study polymorphism of hordeins encoded by the Hrd A, Hrd B, and Hrd F loci in 366 local old barley accessions from Iran and Central Asian countries, including Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan (Mountain Badahsan), and Kirgizia. In total, 60 alleles with frequencies of 0.0003–0.2818 were observed for the Hrd A locus, 106 alleles with frequencies of 0.0003–0.1603 were observed for the Hrd B locus, and five alleles with frequencies of 0.0164–0.4131 were observed for the Hrd F locus. The alleles and allele frequencies displayed irregular distributions in barley populations of the above countries. Cluster analysis of the matrix of allele frequencies in populations from known collection sites revealed a cluster structure of local barley populations within each country. Local populations formed five differently sized clusters in Iran, six in Turkmenistan, three in Uzbekistan, and three in Kirgizia. The variation and allele frequency distribution of the hordein-coding loci in Iran and Central Asian countries were assumed to result from the introduction and spreading of barley forms via migrations of husbandmen.     

喀斯特天然林植物多样性指数和土壤理化指标的相关性

植物多样性的土壤生态系统功能是喀斯特生态学研究的热点之一。在贵州省茂兰国家级自然保护区不同功能区(干扰等级)内采用野外样地调查和实验室分析相结合的方法,分析了41个喀斯特森林样地的植物多样性指数和土壤理化指标值的变化规律与相关性。结果表明:(1)依据乔木层物种重要值聚类法划分的5个喀斯特森林类型包括小叶栾树-青冈栎林、香叶树-枫香林、香椿-香叶树林、灯台-小花梾木林和檵木-马尾松林,由核心区、缓冲区、实验区至外缘区,乔木层植物多样性指数、林地岩石裸露率、土壤蓄水量、肥力及养分指标呈降低趋势。(2)因子分析表明不同层片植物多样性和不同土层土壤理化因子的相关趋势性各异。相关显著的因子对数量率呈乔木灌木草本的趋势,乔木植物多样性因子起主导作用。(3)喀斯特森林乔木层植物多样性指数和土壤理化指标的相关性分3种类型。直线型是植物多样性指数和土壤理化指标值相关性中较普遍的一类,相应指标对数量率为39.84%;曲线型是植物多样性指数和土壤理化指标值相关性中机理较复杂的一类,相应指标对数量率为46.10%,其中植物多样性指数有拐点值无生态意义的指标对数量率为11.72%,有拐点值有生态意义且呈先降后升、或先升后降趋势的指标对数量率分别为17.19%;无关型是植物多样性指数和土壤理化指标值相关性不显著,相应指标对数量率为54.69%。(4)喀斯特地区水土资源管理为目标的营林措施中,天然林乔木层植物多样性指数对土壤物理、肥力和养分指标响应的拐点值可成为人工造林中物种数量与株数比例选择的参考依据之一。     

宝天曼自然保护区主要森林类型自然度评价

自然度评价对于自然保护区生物多样性保护和森林管理具有重要意义。以宝天曼自然保护区主要林型35个样地为研究对象,对27个群落指标进行主成分分析,计算自然度指数值(N),对N值进行Ward聚类,划分自然度等级。结果表明:宝天曼自然保护区主要林型的自然度可划分为5个等级组,自然度高的样地:N值在2.18—1.13之间,平均林龄94a,占调查样地总数的20.0%;自然度较高的样地:N值在1.01—0.34之间,占调查样地总数的34.3%,平均林龄80a;自然度中等的样地:N值在0.01—-0.47之间,占调查样地总数的17.1%,平均林龄为47a;自然度较低的样地:N值在-0.92—-1.60之间,占调查样地总数的14.3%,平均林龄为26a;自然度低的样地,N值在-1.98—-2.54之间,占调查样地总数的14.3%,平均林龄为21a。前3个主成分中土壤容重、有机质、全氮、硝态氮、林龄、优势树种平均胸径、乔木层、灌木层和草本层的多样性指数荷载较大,是影响森林自然度的主要因子。N值与林龄、乔木层和灌木层的Shannon-Wiener指数、海拔、土壤容重的线性拟合均达到极显著水平(P0.001),与土壤有机质和全氮的关系符合对数曲线(R20.794,R2=0.815,P0.0001)。在海拔1118—1863m区域,森林自然度较高,海拔970m以下区域,森林自然度较低。针对不同自然度等级的森林,分别提出了相应的保护和经营措施。     

16S–23S rRNA Intergenic Spacer Region Variability in the Genus Frankia

16S–23S rRNA internally transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences from 53 Frankia strains were sequenced and sized from polymerase chain reaction amplification products and compiled with 14 selected 16S–23S ITS sequences from public database. Frankia genomes included two to three ITS copies lacking length polymorphism except for nine strains. No tRNA gene was encountered in this region. Frankia strains exhibited various lengths (369 to 452 nt) and a wide range of sequence similarity (35–100%) in the ITS region. The average pairwise distance varied from 0.368 (clusters 1 and 2) to 0.964 (clusters 3 and 4) and was 0.397, 0.138, 0.129, and 0.016, respectively, for cluster 4 (saprophytic non-infective/non-effective), clusters 1 and 3 (facultative symbiotic), and cluster 2 (obligate symbiotic). This suggests a gradual erosion of Frankia diversity concomitantly with a shift from saprophytic non-infective/non-effective to facultative and symbiotic lifestyle. Comparative sequence analyses of the 16S–23S rRNA intergenic spacer region of Frankia strains are not useful to assign them to their respective cluster or host infection group. Accurate assignment required the inclusion of the adjacent 16S and 23S rRNA gene fragments.     

Looking up in Scotland? Multinationalism,multiculturalism and political elites

At a time when all the political parties of Scotland are trying to establish a persuasive vision of the nation, inquiry into where ethnic and racial minorities fit into these debates provides one understudied means of bridging literatures on multinationalism and multiculturalism. Focusing especially on the lesser known question of how elite political actors are positioning minorities within projects of nation-building, this article draws upon original empirical data in which three predominant clusters emerge. The first centres on an aspirational pluralism, in so far as political elites are less inclined – in contrast to counterparts in some other minority nations – to place ethnically determined barriers on membership of Scottish nationhood. The second concerns the competing ways in which the legacy of Scotland's place in the British Empire is appropriated by actors of different political hues, and so assumes a multiform role. The third cluster points to potential limitations in minority claims-making and recognition, especially in terms of formal multilingualism and corporate multifaithism, something that may partly be explained by the tension between multinationalism and multiculturalism. Taken together, the article illustrates how elite political actors can play a vital role in ensuring that appeals to nationhood in Scotland can be meaningfully calibrated to include minorities too.     

Microsatellite-based assessment of genetic diversity in stripe rust resistant NUWYT candidate lines

Stripe rust is one of the most devastating diseases, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, affecting a huge amount of wheat crops worldwide. In this study, the genetic diversity of 16 National Uniform Wheat Yield Trial (NUWYT) candidate lines was evaluated by using 22 screened microsatellite markers. These lines were found resistant for stripe rust at adult plant stage. These wheat microsatellite markers identified a total of 38 alleles, with an average of 2.3 alleles per microsatellite locus. The number of alleles ranged from one to five alleles and the highest number of alleles were associated with B genome (25), as compared to D (11) and A (2) genomes. The allelic polymorphism index content (PIC) reflecting the gene diversity of these microsatellite markers ranged from 0.00 to 0.66, with an average of 0.27. The maximum PIC value of 0.66 was observed for xgwm 159-5B and 0.64 for xgwm 413-1B. The gene diversity ranged from 0.00 to 0.71, with an average of 0.30. The genetic similarity matrix was used to construct a dendrogram and the cluster analysis was performed by the use of unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic average algorithm. This divided the entire 16 candidate lines into three main clusters on the basis of their similarity. Our results indicate that the genetic diversity among the 16 candidate NUWYT lines was very narrow.     

Genetic diversity of taro, Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott, in Southeast Asia and the Pacific

The genetic diversity of 255 taro (Colocasia esculenta) accessions from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu was studied using AFLPs. Three AFLP primer combinations generated a total of 465 scorable amplification products. The 255 accessions were grouped according to their country of origin, to their ploidy level (diploid or triploid) and to their habitat—cultivated or wild. Gene diversity within these groups and the genetic distance between these groups were computed. Dendrograms were constructed using UPGMA cluster analysis. In each country, the gene diversity within the groups of wild genotypes was the highest compared to the diploid and triploid cultivars groups. The highest gene diversity was observed for the wild group from Thailand (0.19), the lowest for the diploid cultivars group from Thailand (0.007). In Malaysia there was hardly any difference between the gene diversity of the cultivars and wild groups, 0.07 and 0.08, respectively. The genetic distances between the diploid cultivars groups ranges from 0.02 to 0.10, with the distance between the diploid accessions from Thailand and Malaysia being the highest. The genetic distances between the wild groups range from 0.05 to 0.07. First, a dendrogram was constructed with only the diploids cultivars from all countries. The accessions formed clusters largely according to the country from which they originated. Two major groups of clusters were revealed, one group assembling accessions from Asian countries and the other assembling accessions from the Pacific. Surprisingly, the group of diploid cultivars from Thailand clustered among the Pacific countries. Secondly, a dendrogram was constructed with diploid cultivated, triploid cultivated and wild accessions. Again the division of the accessions into an Asian and a Pacific gene pool is obvious. The presence of two gene pools for cultivated diploid taro has major implications for the breeding and conservation of germplasm.     

Genetic admixture studies on four <Emphasis Type="Italic">in situ</Emphasis> evolved,two migrant and twenty-one ethnic populations of Tamil Nadu,south India

We analysed the genetic structure of ~1000 samples representing 27 ethnic groups settled in Tamil Nadu, south India, derived from two linguistic families (Dravidians and Indo–Europeans) representing four religious groups (Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Jainism) using 11 mtDNA markers. Out of 27 ethnic groups, four are in situ populations (Anglo-Indian, Labbai Muslim, Nadar Christian and south Indian Jain) and two are migrants (Gypsy and north Indian Jain) from north India to Tamil Nadu, and 21 are native ethnic groups. Six of the markers we used were monomorphic (HaeIII663, HpaI3592, AluI5176, AluI7025, AluI13262, 9-bp deletion) and five markers were polymorphic (DdeI10394, AluI10397, HinfI12308, HincII13259 and HaeIII16517). Haplogroup frequencies, genetic affinities and admixture analysis are based on the genotype data of polymorphic markers observed in these populations. Haplogroup frequencies indicate that various ethnic groups entered Tamil Nadu during different time periods. Genetic affinities and admixture estimates revealed that the ethnic groups possessing advanced knowledge of farming cluster in a branch (C), and could be the late arrived settlers as agriculture, was introduced to this region at about 5 to 3 thousand years ago. In situ ethnic groups appear to have arisen at various times as a result of the prevailing dominant socio-cultural forces. Hierarchical Hindu caste system created many ethnic groups in the history of its existence; some of them became isolated for considerable period of time. Over all, among Tamil ethnic groups, in spite of caste systems’ rigidity, built in flexibility in the system in the form of hypergamy and hypogamy had allowed maternal gene flow between them.     

Diversity and family: an inquiry into the effects of ethnic,linguistic, and religious fractionalization on family values

This article focuses on the connection between three forms of diversity – religious, ethnic, and linguistic – and family values. The article builds on the idea that diversity challenges social identity and people react by returning to traditional family values in order to protect their social identity and the in-group culture. The paper aims at contributing to the sociological debate about the effect of diversity on social life and investigates how different types of diversity connect with traditional family values because individuals want to protect their in-group culture that is mainly transmitted within family. The paper tests the research hypotheses employing multilevel regression models and using data from the ISSP IV from 2012. Religious diversity associates with traditional attitudes regarding marriage and gender roles, ethnic diversity goes together with lower support for marriage, but has no connection with attitudes towards gender role, while linguistic diversity is not associated with attitudes family values.     

The extent of clonality in large stands of Lycopodium annotinum L.

In the Rothaargebirge (Northrhine-Westphalia) the interrupted club moss (Lycopodium annotinum L.) often grows in large (maximum size of patches observed: 18,000 m²) and dense (club moss cover 60–90%) clusters. By DNA amplification fingerprinting (DAF) analysis it was shown in three populations comprising a total of 69 samples that the clusters are of great genetical uniformity. Based on data from 47 polymorphic loci amplified with 13 primers 11 multilocus genotypes were identified, nine in one population and one per population in the other two. The data were subjected to similarity analysis, generating Jaccard′s similarity coefficients, on the basis of which cluster analysis was performed. Calculation of Nei's genetic diversity (1987) resulted in a mean value of 0.77 over all samples and a mean within populations diversity of 0.3. Corrected G′_ST value for the fraction of diversity among the populations was 0.7. Two out of three sites are most probably formed by one clone only. As the annual growth rate of the shoots is known, it has to be stated that the stands under investigation are at least 80–90 years old. Taking into consideration that annual accretion is virtually non-existent following forest thinning measures, it becomes very likely that the club moss plants are approximately as old as the trees of their forests (150–180 years). This hypothesis is supported by the observation that within the forests only large (i.e. old) stands, but no single shoots (i.e. young individuals) of the club moss exist. Thus one can conclude that in undisturbed forests no sexual reproduction of L. annotinum takes place.     

Footprints of Middle Ages Kingdoms Are Still Visible in the Contemporary Surname Structure of Spain

To assess whether the present-day geographical variability of Spanish surnames mirrors historical phenomena occurred at the times of their introduction (13^th-16^th century), and to infer the possible effect of foreign immigration (about 11% of present-day) on the observed patterns of diversity, we have analyzed the frequency distribution of 33,753 unique surnames (tokens) occurring 51,419,788 times, according to the list of Spanish residents of the year 2008. Isonymy measures and surname distances have been computed for, and between, the 47 mainland Spanish provinces and compared to a numerical classification of corresponding language varieties spoken in Spain. The comparison of the two bootstrap consensus trees, representing surname and linguistic variability, suggests a similar picture; major clusters are located in the east (Aragón, Cataluña, Valencia), and in the north of the country (Asturias, Galicia, León). Remaining regions appear to be considerably homogeneous. We interpret this pattern as the long-lasting effect of the surname and linguistic normalization actively led by the Christian kingdoms of the north (Reigns of Castilla y León and Aragón) during and after the southwards reconquest (Reconquista) of the territories ruled by the Arabs from the 8^th century to the late 15^th century, that is when surnames became transmitted in a fixed way and when Castilian linguistic varieties became increasingly prestigious and spread out. The geography of contemporary surname and linguistic variability in Spain corresponds to the political geography at the end of the Middle-Ages. The synchronicity between surname adoption and the political and cultural effects of the Reconquista have permanently forged a Spanish identity that subsequent migrations, internal or external, did not deface.     

Ecometrics for life cycle management

Metrics are a prerequisite for the successful monitoring and management of progress toward goals. Within the context of sustainable development these “values” are stakeholder dependent with the interests of the individual, society, the environmental infrastructure and intergenerational liability differing significantly. These stakeholder priorities may also be mutually inconsistent or simultaneously unattainable. Therefore, a set of scale- and value-specific indicators will he required to represent the priorities of individuals, religious organizations, political and public interest groups, non-government organizations, firms and industry associations, as well as national and international institutions. Restricting the number of ecometrics, or creating aggregated sustainability indicators, risks disenfranchisement and ivalidation respectively. Over the past three decades a series ofmicroecometrics have been developed to account for the impact of human activity, technology or products over regional, national, and sub-continental scales. These include life cycle energy consumption, dematerialization, waste minimization, as well as design for environment and eco-efficiency indicators, the latter two combining technological or economic aspects respectively with environmental factors.Metrics which evaluate the impact of a service, or the utility provided by a product, are lacking. A series of global measures, or macroecometrics have also been defined and include the average annual temperature as well as atmospheric compositions and concentrations, sea level, and earth based resources such as topsoil quantities. The validity of microecometrics as measures of global phenomena can be established through life cycle impact assessments which evaluate the “system’s” response to effects of products or services throughout their life cycle. However, the link between microecometrics and macroecometrics, their validity as indicators of sustainability, the subjectivity of sustainable developmentper se as a value, and the relationship of metrics and sustainable development with family values has not extensively been addressed. This paper summarizes recently proposed ecometrics, calls for the recognition of the subjectivity of indicators, the distinction between ecometrics used for internal corporate reporting and external decision making, and the establishment of a representative multistakeholder debate.